Chapter 10: Microsurgery

Ronaldo Pereira, M.D., was an excellent orthopedic surgeon, at the height of his career. Part of his reputation derived from a few high-profile cases, where he succeeded in repairing damages thought to be hopelessly crippling. For example, racing for a spot on the Olympic team, a 24 year old skier named Marlon had collided with a granite boulder while flying down the giant slalom course at excessive speed. On national television, repeated replays of the impact gave the impression that his knee had been pulverized into useless shards of splintered bone.

Amazingly, especially to the layperson, Dr. Pereira had reconstructed the knee well enough that a year later, Marlon (now 25) was back on the slopes as a recreational skier and ski instructor, although his Olympic dream was over. Television could not resist the story, and “Dr. P.” became somewhat well-known to the public.

Relating to Lara, it turned out that Marlon’s grateful father was chief of the Neurology Department at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. Within an hour Dr. Pereira was in a detailed discussion with Carlene Dorsey, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of Neurosurgery at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in west Los Angeles.

Dr. Dorsey was emphatic. “You’re right about nerve damage. The faster you can get her to us, the better. And by faster, I mean every hour that goes by could cause permanent loss of nerve tissue. You’re an Ortho, right? Great, I want you to arrange just enough general anesthesia so that she tolerates having her mons and vulva constantly packed in ice. Then get her on her way to us. This time of day should be tolerable traffic. As I’m sure you know, you’re taking the 91 west to the 5, then the 10 west to the UCLA campus. If that’s no good, we are close to the 405 also.”

“We will take great care of her, Dr. Pereira. Let’s get her here so we can get going on the repairs. And I have grant money available for these kinds of injuries, that part should be covered. Good bye for now.”

Five hours later, Lara was unconscious, splayed out on an operating table. Dr. Dorsey was over her lower abdomen, peering through two tubular eyepieces as she used tiny tools to repair the damage. The microsurgery was complete at the 2-1/2 hour point. She walked from the operating theatre out to the waiting room, expecting to see one or two parents of 15 year old Lara.

Instead there was only Lennie, also 15, who was vibrating with anxiety. “How is Lara?” Dorsey sat next to her and held her hand. “It’s too early to see results, but I think the surgery was successful. I’m Carlene Dorsey, I’m Chief of Neurosurgery here and I just left her on her way to recovery. And you are?”

“Lennie Pereira, my dad is the doctor you spoke with. I am Lara’s partner, and advocate. I’m going to put him on speaker so you can jargon with him, I’ll try to keep up.”